Charting the Stars

Posted on Sun Aug 20th, 2017 @ 7:38pm by

Mission: S01E01 - At the Brink of Night
Location: Deck 2 | Astronavigation

Before the starship Musashi could rendezvous with the USS Constitution and USS Enterprise and head towards the Zaran system, the helmsmen for the three starship would need the best and most strategically appealing route to enter the system, giving them an upper hand on the Klingons even if only for a minute or two.

That task was on the starship navigators to shoulder. The Constitution and Enterprise's navigators were already at work relaying their suggestions to the Musashi's young junior navigator, Ensign Arturo Marquez who was down on Deck 2's Astronavigation Room taking in the 'numbers' and calculating the data. All three navigators had to be on the same page and in agreement with what course to take. If they were not, the plan would possibly fail and one starship may not arrive with the others.

Trill communications operator, Cornet Jakku had not attended the meeting due to not having proper clearance. However, he did get the standard information provided to the crew after the meeting was over. It said nothing of importance except the Musashi would be heading to the Zaran system at yellow alert. He knew there was something potentially dangerous and logically that probably meant Klingons.

The young Trill wandered about the starship while he was off duty, learning as much as he could about the Federation, humans, and the starship in general. When he passed by one room on deck two he saw Ensign Marquez busy at work. His curiosity lead him to quietly enter the room and stand behind the seated Marquez before breaking his silence and probably the ensign's concentration at least partially. "Hi! What are you doing, Ensign?" asked Cornet.

Ensign Arturo Marquez sat in the astronavigation lab, sitting on a stool that was scooted up to a backlit table. He had several PADDs scattered about, a compass in one hand, a stylus in the other. He sat there hunched over a large starchart, rattling off numbers, and only looking up briefly at one of the PADDs. Upon hearing a voice, he didn't even flinch simply because he was in the 'numbers zone'. However, he did answer. "I'm doing some calculations for our upcoming mission," he answered.

This only intrigued the Trill more. While he was excluded from the mission briefing, only privy to the post meeting information released ship-wide, he was present when a message came in for the Captain. Though he had not seen the contents himself, it was definitely mission related.

The Trill quickly started to search the vast stars and stellar phenomena that the young navigator was pulling up and working around. "Alpha Quadrant" he said in a low tone of voice as his eyes wandered about trying to pin point more specific stellar marks. "I think I know that nebula...oh and that system. That's the Zaran system" he said a bit gleefully.

Arturo finally looked up from to see the young man from communications standing at the work station. For a moment he couldn't remember the fact someone had even walked into the astronavigation lab then he remembered the voice, and even responding. "That's right," Arturo responded, as a slight smile graced his lips. "We are here." He pointed to a spot on the star chart, which was the Tellar system. "I have to plot a course from here," he dragged his finger across the chart, "to here, all while avoiding, here, here, here, and here." Each 'here' was followed up by his index finger tapping a stellar phenomenon.

Cornet looked at the phenomena and nodded. "I see...oh yeah definitely" he said with a smile. "We don't want to fly into the asteroid belt or too close to whatever that is" he commented. "I do not envy you. You have a much harder job than I do" added the Trill.

He simply shrugged. "I think it was kind of the Captain to find me a position that I could help out at. I was worried participating in this program would just stick me on a starship as an observer only" he said a bit gleefully. "I never thought I'd be sitting on the Bridge" he added.

Arturo briefly looked down at the star chart, he didn't find any of this difficult, infact he wished it was more challenging. He looked back up and met the gaze of the other young man. "It is quite an honor to be assigned to the bridge, I was excited myself when I found out I'd been filling the navigator position. I know it's probably temporary, but I'll take whatever I can get."

Cornet nodded "Temporary is better than nothing or scrubbing bulkheads" he said with a shrug. "I know that I am definitely just temporary until they find a proper Communications Officer, but you at least have a better chance of staying on the Bridge for a shift at least. You have a commission. I'm just an observer at the end of the day."

"Being an observer has its merits as well," Arturo replied. "I feel it is a position that is important in Starfleet right now, especially as we explore the unknown." He shrugged. "I think it keeps us humans in check, humans tend to have 'center of the universe' egos." He allowed himself a small smile with that. "People who are non-humans have a way of making us look at the broader picture, or at least that is how I see things." He thought about how the meeting went concerning the Klingons, he couldn't believe the hostile attitudes, but yet he also understood why. People like himself, the young ones who were the future of Starfleet, hopefully, would see things a bit differently.

Cornet could not help but feel as though he were in a classroom being lectured to by this young man, but it was not a lecturing in a negative sense. It was a good thing. It was a peaceful thing and the Trill found himself admiring Arturo for it. "I think your rank might be Ensign, but your brain is provisional Captain" teased the young Trill. "You sound wiser than the years you look. I think you would fit in on my world" he said as thought about his people. The act of joining a symbiont to a host, allowed to beings to co-exist with memories and experiences from the symbiont and previous hosts. Of course Cornet said nothing of this with the off worlder.

"So, in a way my being aboard as an observer can help these people...your people of the Federation become better and more understanding of the galaxy?" asked Cornet. "My people have no dispute with these Klingons. We have not even met them personally to my knowledge" admitted the Trill.

"I'm not even sure why we have a dispute with the Klingons," Arturo responded, he shrugged. "And again, yes I do believe that. You will offer a broader perspective as opposed to a narrow one. For instance, in my opinion, Captain Figueroa seems rather narrow-minded when it comes to Klingons. Now don't get me wrong, I can see why, but now that the war is over we need to keep our minds open with non-judgement and understanding." He knew, deep down, that was never going to be a popular opinion among the older-and to a lesser extent the younger-officers.

The Trill eagerly rushed to respond "If the humans spent more time actually exploring they might find themselves in less confrontations" said the Trill crossing his arms. "There's a difference between being curious and gently lifting up every rock along the way and forcefully plowing through a forest swashing and slashing the air, knocking plants out of your way" commented Cornet Jakku.

He then looked at his young companion and shipmate shrugging his shoulders. "I thought it was a good analogy. I think you are right about the Captain. She seems to still have the mindset of being in the For Years War with the Klingons, but the war was supposed to be over...so why are we still having these skirmishes with the Klingons?"

"Because skirmishes never go away," Arturo responded. "Because I think Starfleet and the Klingons still want something to happen again so they can resume fighting. For example..." he planted a finger on the star chart where Zaran II was, "the Klingons know the Zaran system is a protectorate of the Federation and yet there they are, provoking us. They don't really need us there especially if the Constitution and the Enterprise are going to be there. But, yet here we are. I don't think this situation is going to end in peace talks." Arturo certainly had strong opinions about this, and he probably shouldn't have been sharing them an observer, but what was the point otherwise. "Anyway, that's just my take."

Cornet studied the map and the situation. "I don't know much about all your starships and such, but I imagine the Musashi is going because it is a tough little starship. I've heard the Captain boasting that the Ares class was designed for combat and is the closest thing to a Warship that the Federation has ever made" stated the young Trill who had a natural gift for overhearing things and retaining the information for later useage. "No, you probably are right. Things won't end in peace talks. But by the way the crew talks, you'd think these Klingons were brutal savages. The way the crew describes them, I'm not sure they know the words peace or talk let alone put together."

"Probably not," Arturo responded grimly. "And you are right, or the Captain is anyway about the Ares-class vessel. She is built for battle, is considered a warship but the Constitution-class vessels are larger, more powerful, and far more formidable. Commander Samuels served on the Constitution, he could tell you the differences better than I could, or even a manual for that matter."

The young Trill smirked and crossed his arms before bending down and leaning inward over Arturo's shoulder and in a small gentle tone, hushed to a mere whisper said "You know size isn't everything. You can have a big starship and a lot of force and still be outdone by the smaller one."

Cornet then departed from the other man's shoulder and looked at him letting out a small chuckle. "I've been reading up on some Earth military history. Your people used to have ships in oceans and seas. Bigger more well armed ships would sometimes lose battles to smaller ships because the larger ships were slow to turn. The smaller ships were sometimes quicker or at the very least more maneuverable."

Arturo's body stiffened with the other man so close and talking in such a hushed tone. He liked his personal space, and very rarely did he allow people to invade it. "Well uh..." he cleared his throat. "The Musashi does have maneuverability that is for sure and is quick and smart."

"Well, as a navigator, I guess we will be putting a lot of faith in you to use our strengths and play them up to keep us away from trouble" commented the inquisitive Trill. "You seem like someone who needs their time and space. I'm sorry if I got into your personal space. I probably should stay out of the way and stop being a distraction."

Arturo shook his head. "No, it's not that," he whispered. He then indicated the star chart with a tip of his head. "This stuff is easy to me, math, calculations, marks, that I can do without even the use a computer. I just don't always have an easy time around other people." This time he managed to smile. "It probably has a lot to do with the fact I am much smarter than most, I mean I'm twenty and already an ensign. Some of my classmates at the Academy took issue with that."

The young Trill nodded. "I can understand that. I may not but from a Federation world and I am not in Starfleet, but I am still envious of you. You are young, serving on a starship, and you have an officer's rank. I do not even have an enlisted rank. My status is purely an observer. I'm considered a civilian in the eyes of your Captain" he said with a shrug.

Well, you are a civilian, Arturo thought to himself. "Maybe if you have a good experience on the Musashi, you could maybe apply to the Academy. I mean if that was something you would be interested it." He fell silent. "I think you will have a good experience here, I mean it's not a huge ship by any means but it seems like there is a lot of good people here. People who have experience, and people like myself who are learning. I think that makes for a good atmosphere."

Cornet then proceeded to focus on what the Ensign had said about people. "I understand how that is. I like my privacy, but these spots tend to be attention grabbers. "The Captain will want your information soon. I'll leave you to your work, Arturo. But I do look forward to having more of these conversations" added the Trill with a subtle smile before parting ways with the young navigator.

Arturo smiled and then looked over his shoulder as he watched the young alien leave the astronavigation lab. "I look forward to it as well," he whispered and then turn back to his work.